


It Would Be A Shame

by Aaronna



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: 3rd degree burns, Aftermath of Possession, Based on a Tumblr Post, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Torture, Burns, Demonic Possession, Fluffy Bonus Chapter, Gen, Gore, Heart Attacks, Heavy Angst, I don't even know where that Fluff came from..., POV Ford Pines, POV Stan Pines, Possession, Psychological Torture, Seizures, Temporary Character Death, Torture, Tumblr Prompt, character abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 06:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18493375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aaronna/pseuds/Aaronna
Summary: Ford didn’t know how Bill had gotten into his brother, all he knew was that he was in serious trouble. If Bill could con Stan, then he clearly was more willing to act now than he had 30 years ago. It didn’t take his genius level intellect to know this wasn’t going to end well for any of them and as Stan’s possessed hand dug into his scalp, just under the metal plate, he knew he was doomed.“Bill, Wait!”





	1. It Would Be A Shame

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NimbleShrillSphinx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NimbleShrillSphinx/gifts).
  * Inspired by [so i had an idea ford said he inserted a metal](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/473854) by chibihaley. 



> Happy birthday Nimble!

Ford didn’t know how Bill had gotten into his brother, all he knew was that he was in serious trouble. If Bill could con Stan, then he clearly was more willing to act now than he had 30 years ago. It didn’t take his genius level intellect to know this wasn’t going to end well for any of them and as Stan’s possessed hand dug into his scalp, just under the metal plate, he knew he was doomed.

 

“Bill, Wait!”

 

The words were barely out of his mouth when it happened. The pain was immense, but he knew this was nothing compared to what was coming.

 

\---

 

Stan didn’t understand what happened. One minute he was sitting down to rest between tours and the next he was manhandling his bleeding brother and there was blood on his hand. No, not just blood, but skin and hair too. 

 

“Ford! I’m-”

 

His words froze in his mouth when he saw the slitted yellow eyes.

 

“DON’T SWEAT IT, STANLEY PINES.” 

 

The voice was not Ford’s. He knew that, but his mind was still trying to understand what had happened. He knew what had happened, he had read Dipper’s notes and Mabel's addition in the third journal, but he hadn’t made a deal with the “Evil Dorito” as Mabel called him. So how had it worked?

 

“WOW, THIS BODY SURE HAS AGED. IT IS STRONGER NOW, BUT OLD. HE DIDN’T USED TO GET THIS WEAK FROM BLOOD LOSS SO SOON.”

Stan’s chest tightened. “Used to.” This wasn’t the first time. Ford had been under this monster’s control before. No wonder he had been so paranoid. All he could do was stand there and watch as his twin’s body was trotted around the room, leaving a nasty trail of blood.

 

“HEY FEZ, CATCH!”

 

Stan was barely able to catch his brother as his body tottered forward. He quickly lower him to the floor and tried to stem the bleeding with his suit jacket. As Ford’s eyes opened, they looked normal, but had a pained glaze to them. That was the last thing he remembered.

 

\---

 

It hurt so bad! His entire body felt lifeless and cold. He was surprised at how long Bill was able to keep moving around the room. He wasn’t surprised to regain control of his body as soon as it was too damaged to be any fun. 

 

He didn’t know where Bill had gone, but he needed to find out. It took most of his willpower to get his eyes to open, but once they were, he almost wished he hadn’t. He got to see Stan’s worried face for all of a moment before his eyes went yellow and cat-like.

 

“YOU KNOW SIXER, I WAS WONDERING IF YOU WERE REALLY WORTH MY TIME, BUT EVEN HALF DEAD YOU ARE BETTER THAN THIS WASTE OF SPACE. EVEN HIS BODY IS A LOSER!”

 

Ford was too tired to express his anger at the words. His head was throbbing from the wound and from the drop in blood pressure. He knew his chances of survival were slim, but he was more worried about what would happen to Stanley and the children if Bill stayed free. 

 

To stop Cipher, he needed to know how he was able to possess Stan. gathering his waning strength, he forced his voice to work. It was weak and slurred, but it was comprehensible. 

 

“How-re you ‘n ‘im? ‘e wo’ n’t… deal… you.”

 

If he had had the strength, he would had shuttered at the sound of Bill’s laugh coming from his brother’s mouth.

 

“NAMES ARE POWERFUL THINGS, SIXER. I MADE A DEAL WITH STANFORD PINES. 30 YEARS GOING BY YOUR NAME, LIVING YOUR LIFE OPENS ALL SORTS OF LOOP HOLES INTO OL’ FEZ’S HEAD!”

 

So that was it. Stan hadn’t made a deal. Instead, he was paying for a 30 year old mistake. The similarity to the 10 years after Stan had broken his project wasn’t lost on him. 

 

“LET’S GET YOU FIXED UP. *snaps fingers* I KNOW JUST THE THING.”

 

The mischievous smile Bill forced onto Stan’s face was terrifying. Nothing good could ever come from that look. Nothing.

 

When Bill came back, he had a welding torch and a disturbing grin. Ford knew what was coming. In a way, he was glad that they were in the basement where the children wouldn’t hear his screams. If only the same were true for Stanley.

 

\---

 

All he could hear were the screams. At first they sounded far away, but they quickly became the only thing he knew. It wasn’t until the screams ended that he really came back to himself. It took a good shake of his head to clear the fuzziness, but never had he wished he hadn’t done something as much as he regretted that action.

 

As soon as the fog in his mind had faded he saw Ford. The smell of the smoldering flesh and the sight of his brother’s burned face made his stomach expel the Stancakes and Pitt Soda he had eaten earlier. That was when he saw what was in his hand.

 

He pitched the torch away as if it was a snake trying to bite him. What had he done! How could he had done that to his brother?! Sure the demon had been in Ford, but he knew what a burn like that felt like, so why had he done it?

 

Was he going mad? It wouldn’t be the first time. But he had never done anything like this before. Had he? That thought and the lingering stench of puke and burnt skin made his throw up again.

 

Luckily, or not, he wasn’t able to lose himself in his dark thoughts as Ford groaned from his spot on the bloodied floor. He didn’t even think before sitting on the floor and pulling his brother into his arms. Tears and apologies poured out of him.

 

At first he didn’t notice, but soon it was undeniable. Ford was laughing. Or rather, Bill was.

 

“DID A REAL NUMBER DIDN’T YOU? I DIDN’T THINK YOU HAD IT IN YOU! AND HERE I WAS THINKING YOU WERE THE SANE TWIN!”

 

Stan moved away as fast as he could. His mind was reeling and he was questioning his every action for the last 40+ years. The gold eyes seemed to see right through him and left him feeling violated on several levels.

 

“MAN IS THIS GOING TO BE FUN! OOPS! I THINK I BROKE IT!”

 

Stan watched in horror as the yellow faded and his brother went still. Too still. He crawled be to his brother’s side, ignoring the pain in his knees as he did so, and felt his twin’s neck for a pulse. Not finding one, he pressed his better ear to Ford’s chest with his hearing aid turn all the way up. Nothing.

 

Dead. He had killed his brother. He had spent 30 years wondering if he had killed Ford, but that hadn’t prepared him for this. Unable to understand how this had happened, Stan laid down next to his twin and cried himself into oblivion.

 

\---

 

Ford came back to life with a gasp. He had no doubt that he had died, but he was unsure of how he was back. That sort of thing doesn’t usually happen. Not even in Gravity Falls.

 

“WELCOME BACK GENIUS. I CUT IT AWFUL CLOSE THERE. A FEW MORE SECONDS AND I’D HAVE HAD TO FIX THAT PRETTY BRAIN OF YOURS. BUT BOY LET ME TELL YOU, IT WAS WORTH IT TO SEE FEZ BREAK.”

 

Ford’s blood seemed to freeze as he turned to look at the possessed form of his brother.

 

“What did you do?”

 

“I’M SURPRISED YOU CARE AFTER WHAT HE DID TO YOU ALL THOSE YEARS AGO. HE RUINED YOUR LIFE. BUT I SHOULD THANK HIM. IF HE HADN’T BEEN SUCH A SCREW UP, WE WOULD NEVER HAVE MET. SO YOU COULD SAY HE DID ONE WORTHWHILE THING WITH HIS LIFE, RIGHT SIXER?”

 

Ford’s heart dropped as his own words to Stan were used like that. He tried to stand up, but he head went light and he crashed back down on the floor.

 

“NOT SO FAST SIXER. DID YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD JUST LET YOU WANDER OFF? BLOOD LOSS CAN BE A REAL DRAG, BUT I CAN’T HAVE YOU LEAVING BEFORE ALL THE FUN STARTS. I DIDN’T KILL YOU AND RESURRECT YOU FOR NO REASON.”

 

Ford was already cold, now he felt even colder. He hadn’t known Bill had that kind of power. So, even dying wouldn’t save them from the psychotic isosceles. 

 

Not knowing what to do, he ran a six-fingered hand over his face. He all but yelped in pain when the tip of one finger brushed the edge of the 3rd degree burns on the side of his head. Luckily for him, in a way, his face was used to high temperatures from his shaving method, but this was a worse type of burn than that.

 

“YOU KNOW, YOU TWO MATCH NOW. YOU BURNED HIM, NOW HE’S BURNED YOU! WIN-WIN, HUH GENUS?”

 

“He didn’t do this! You did!” 

 

Ford’s bellow wasn’t nearly as impressive as he had hoped, but it was better than what most would be able to do so soon after dying from shock.

 

“WE KNOW THAT, BUT HE DOESN’T. MAN THIS HAS BEEN A FUN DAY! WE SHOULD DO THIS MORE OFTEN! OH WAIT! WE STILL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF MUSICAL STANS!”

 

Ford mentally steeled himself for having to relive his worst nightmare as Bill floated out of Stanley and into his body.

 

\---

 

Waking up on his feet unnerved Stan. What was happening to him? He survived 40 years without his brother, but as soon as he truly got him back, he goes loco and kills his brother that he had been trying to make up to all that time.

 

Looking around, he didn’t see Ford’s body. Body… Oh man! He’s going to have to tell the kids! No. No. NO! This couldn’t be happening!

 

He only just got the twins’ parents to let him see them. He loved those little terrors more than he had thought possible, but if he had lost his marbles, they needed as far away from him as they could be. He had already killed his twin, he didn’t want to add either of those two to his list. 

 

Soos and Wendy needed to clear out too. Wendy might be able to take him, but if he had taken down Ford, Soos didn’t stand a chance. It was safer if they all left. He didn’t deserve them now.

 

He knew there was a quicker way of making them safe, but he needed to say goodbye before he could think of doing that. He needed to see that Ford was buried right. He owed his brother that much.

 

He wished this was all just a dream. If only the blood on his hands and the stench in the air would let him believe that. It was a living nightmare. And he knew there was no waking up from it.

 

“YOU KNOW FEZ, I EXPECTED A LOT MORE OF YOU.”

 

Stan wasn’t sure if he should feel relieved or horrified when his brother’s possessed body came into view. Could it mean that Ford was still alive or was the demon just animating his twin’s corpse? Right now, he was too emotionally strung out to do anything.

 

“Is… Is he alive?”

 

“NO THANKS TO YOU. MAN, IF I HAD KNOWN YOU WOULD JUST FOLD THAT EASILY, I WOULDN’T STARTED THIS LITTLE POKER GAME OF OURS. ‘OL SIXER AND I WERE CHESS BUDDIES, BUT I THINK CARDS ARE MORE YOUR STYLE.”

 

Stan let himself plop onto the floor, relieve filling him. Ford was alive! He hadn’t killed him! ‘Yet’ a small voice in the back of his mind pointed out. Oddly, it didn’t sound like him at all.

 

It was probably too late for Ford and Stan knew the best way to end this was to stop himself. The best way to do that was to trigger the security system. It was simple enough that he had set it up on his own, but effective enough to keep them down here. He was going to send the elevator to the second floor.

 

That was the brilliance of the system. He had turned off the auto-recall of the elevator car 20 years before and used its parts on the portal controls. This would keep the kids safe and the three of them trapped. Well, he hoped it would keep the demented corn chip down here with them.

 

“I lived on the streets for 10 years, stayed in several prisons in more than one country. Sorry if I ain’t as refined as my multi-PhD brother.”

 

As Bill threw Ford’s head back in a deep belly laugh, Stan got to his feet and inched towards the elevator. Acting like has was trying to escape, Stan acted even more worried than he actually was. He barely punched in the code to the second floor when he was drug away from the panel.

 

“I DIDN’T TAKE YOU FOR A RUNNER, FEZ. YOU SEEM MORE LIKE THE STAND AND FIGHT TYPE. OH WELL, YOU REALLY ARE THE COWARD YOUR OLD MAN CALLED YOU.”

 

As much as those words hurt him, Stan smiled.

 

“Think again buster. I just sent our ride off. We are stuck down here, together.”

 

“ALL I HAVE TO DO IS PRESS A FEW BUTTONS AND ME AND SIXER HERE ARE FREE TO GO.”

 

“Think again buster. I have lived here 30 years I had to remove a few parts from that old lift to fix the the computer over there. That thing ain’t coming back.”

 

The next thing Stan knew, all 12 of his brother’s fingers were wrapped around his neck. 

 

“I SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU THE FIRST TIME I TOOK OVER YOUR MIND. IT IS TIME I FIXED THAT!”

 

Realization filled Stan’s mind as his vision blacked out. He hadn’t tried to hurt Ford! He wasn’t losing his mind. A smile formed on his face as he passed out.

 

\---

 

Ford ripped his hands from Stan’s throat the moment Bill left him. Why the demon had done so was a mystery to him, but he was glad that he had. As Stan started to crumple, Ford quickly grabbed his brother and clumsily lowered them both to the floor. 

 

He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. He was freezing, light headed, and in more pain than he could describe. Leaning his head against Stan’s, he noticed that he was sweating despite how cold he was. The only reason for it he could think of was the his burn was infected, but there hadn’t been enough time for incubation, had there?

 

The edges of his vision blurred as his forehead was dislodged from Stan’s temple. He knew it was Bill waking his brother’s body, but he could hardly bring himself to care. He had failed Stan, the kids, the earth, the world even. He had released a creature determined to destroy it, all in the name of fun.

 

“SLEEPING WON’T SAVE YOU FROM WHAT I HAVE PLANNED FOR YOU GENIUS. I WORK BEST THERE. NIGHT NIGHT!”

 

Ford was too drained to even fight to stay awake. There was an upside to this though. As long as Bill was in his dreamscape, Stan was safe. Or so he thought.

 

\---

 

Stan woke up tied to the only chair in the hell pit known as the Shack’s basement. Bill seemed to have realized that the portal was useless now, because yards of the its wiring was currently wrapped around his arms, legs, and chest. And took his shoes?

 

They are trapped in the deepest part of the house, he is tied to a chair with pounds of cables, and the crazy Dorito in a top hat thought he needed to take his shoes? What was he hoping that would do? He didn’t need covered feet to escape. So why?

 

“DID YOU KNOW YOUR FEET ARE ARE ONE OF THE MOST SENSITIVE PARTS OF A HUMAN’S BODY?”

 

Bill’s voice came from behind him, so he couldn’t turn to face the distorted face of his twin.

 

“Can’t say I did. My ex-wife might have liked that. She had this foot fetish. She liked ta lick my toes, kinda like a puppy. We weren’t together long, but I never had cleaner feet.”

 

“FUN STORY FEZ, BUT THIS WILL BE EVEN BETTER!” 

 

Stan’s stomach dropped when he heard the clink and then roar of the welding torch being lit. He knew what was coming. He had seen the number Rico and others in the cartel had done on people’s feet, but he had thought it was to keep them from running off. Bill clearly had other plans.

 

The sound got closer and closer. The fear and anticipation of the burns got his heart beating double time. When the torch wrapped in a six-fingered grip finally came into sight, Stan understood why it had taken so long.

 

Ford’s skin was a sickly yellow-grey color. His hair, the part not covered with dried blood or burned, was plastered to his head with sweat. He seemed to be too weak for Bill to even get him to walk. Instead, he was slowly inching his way across the floor with the empty hand.

 

“THEY DON’T MAKE GENIUSES LIKE THEY USED TO! THOSE 30 YEARS REALLY SLOWED THIS ONE DOWN. I USED TO BE ABLE TO BLEED HIM DAILY AND EVEN ‘OL SPECS DIDN’T NOTICE. NOW, ONE LITTLE HEAD WOUND AND HE CRUMBLES LIKE A PILLAR OF SALT IN A HURRICANE!”

 

“Yeah well, ages and musty cellars’ll do that to ya.”

 

“I’LL TAKE YOU WORD FOR IT FEZ. I HAVE BEEN WATCHING THIS DIMENSION FOR MILLENNIA AND I’M A YOUNG AS EVER! BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT. LET’S HAVE A LITTLE FUN!”

 

Stan squeezed his eyes shut just as his brother’s possessed hand holding the torch came within reach of his exposed feet.

 

\---

 

Reliving the past can painful for anyone. Reliving Stanford Pine’s past was torture. Ridicule for his polydactylism, verbal abuse towards himself and Stanley, physical abuse as both a child and adult, betrayal, misguided decisions, physical torture and incarceration, and loneliness. Bill just made him rewatch his past, over and over again. Each time it happened, he saw the little things he could have changed, little things that would have make both of the Pine twins’ lives better.

 

Bill was was hurting him with hindsight. It was so simple, yet Ford was powerless against it. And then Stan’s memories came.

 

Bill must have kept some of them when he moved from his brother, but what he saw broke Ford’s heart. He had thought Stan was exaggerating that day in the portal room, but he had actually underplayed it. When the memories of 30 years of waiting came, Stanford Pines felt like the lowest creature in the multiverse. 

 

Stan had been so happy to see him alive and had worked hard for 30 years to get his twin back, to fix a mistake. And what had Ford done? Punched him in the face and berated him. His words and actions the day had been equivalent to rubbing salt into thousands of tiny cuts, each too small to see, but very painful on their own.

 

He had tortured his brother so badly and hadn’t even known it. How could he have been so blind? So selfish? Stan was his twin. His other half. And he had ripped them apart. 

 

In an attempt to be his own person, he had mutilated their bond. Like the mermaid who cut her fin in half so she could have legs. She lived a life of pure pain. And like her, Ford was afraid he and Stan were destined to be forgotten and fade away like seafoam. 

 

Bill’s torture was Occam's razor. So simple, but the perfect way to undo a brilliant mind. And nothing unravels a man’s sanity faster than self loathing, regret, and pain. And Bill had heaped those things on by the metric ton. 

 

\---

 

“I GOTTA HAND IT TO YOU FEZ. YOU ARE MADE OF TOUGHER STUFF THAN I THOUGHT!”

 

Stan would have made a scathing remark, but he had locked his jaw early in Bill’s “Funtivities” and it seemed to be stuck there, for now at least.

 

“I FIGURED BEING TWINS, YOU TWO WOULD BE MORE ALIKE.”

 

Stan huffed at the statement. The two of them were about as different as two brothers could be. And that was probably because they were twins. Kinda like Dipper and Mabel.

 

“OOO! I HAVE AN IDEA! LETS MAKE A COPY OF YOUR BRAND ON THE OTHER SHOULDER, BUT BIGGER!”

 

Stan sent a silent prayer to anyone who would listen to just let him pass out already. After a few minutes, he got his wish. 

 

\---

 

After living through his own memories and Stan’s more time than he could remember, the memories shifted. Now, he was shown just how nice things could have been if he had stood up for Stan. Then what would have happened if he had looked for Stanley a few days after he was kicked out. Each replay showing him how the last 40 years could have played out if he had reached out to his twin sooner, each having a later and later reunion.

 

Then he was shown just how bad things could have been. Ford was horrified at some of the possible fates that could have befallen his brother and himself. Torture of all types, from their father, their mother, Shermie, and a great deal of other people from their past.

 

And just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse, Bill brought in the twins. Never had he felt more scared and horrified then the images of the possible things Cipher could do to those kids with Stan and his bodies. It was beyond obscene.

 

But instead of breaking Ford, this strengthened his resolve to get free of the demon. He had fail Fidds, Stan, even himself, but there was no way in the multiverse that he was going to let the demon lay another finger on those two. Even if he had to end himself to do it.

 

\---

 

“WAKEY WAKEY FEZ!”

The pain was bad. He had been through some nasty stuff in his day, but this was worse. 

 

“FOR A BROKEN OLD MEAT SACK, YOU SURE ARE STURDY! I’M SURPRISED I HAVEN’T KILLED YOU YET!”

 

Stan grunted in response, but that was just about all he had energy for.

 

“WELL, I AM JUST GOING TO… WHY WON’T IT WORK?!”

 

“Probably… out’ta propane… I never… got more… Lucky me…”

 

“OH WELL. I’VE BROKEN TOYS BEFORE.”

 

Stan managed to pry his eyes open enough to see Bill limp Ford’s body out of sight. As his eyes slid back closed, he turned his attention to the sounds around him. He could hear his own rough breathing, the usual creaking of the cellar, and then there was Ford’s wheezy breaths coming from near the desk.

 

Just as he really focused on Ford’s location and started listening as hard as his hearing aid would let him, there was a loud crash from that same spot. Stan winces as his ears rang. He thought he heard Bill say something about gravity, but with the ringing, he could just as easily have said something else. By the time his ears quieted down, the sound of Ford’s breathing was in front of him again. 

 

\---

 

Ford didn’t understand why, but Bill had stopped the memories and was allowing him to make his way out of the mindscape and back into his head.

 

\---

 

“I THINK I’LL LET ‘OL FORDSY SEE MY LITTLE MASTERPIECE BEFORE I SIGN IT. HE LIKES ART, SO HE SHOULD LOVE WHAT I’VE DONE WITH YOU.”

 

Stan could tell by Bill’s tone alone that he was grinning that unnatural smile. The thought made him shiver, which lead to him emptying his rather full bladder.

 

\---

 

Ford winced at the sight of his brother being so damaged that he urinated himself. It was clear that Bill had had a lot of ‘fun’ with the propane torch on Stan. His feet were a mess, as was his legs and arms. Ford could only image what was hidden in the shadows. 

 

\---

 

“EWW! YOU HUMANS ARE SO GROSS! YOU ARE MOSTLY LIQUID, BUT YOU CAN’T KEEP IT INSIDE WHERE IT BELONGS. FIRST IS WAS THAT SMELLY STUFF FROM EARLIER, NOW THIS. I HAVE DESTROYED ENTIRE DIMENSIONS WITH BETTER HYGIENE THAN YOU, FEZZY.”

 

“What? Smelly- Oh. Vomit. Yeah well... that one was... your fault… Using me…”

 

“DON’T BLAME ME! THE MUSHY STUFF WAS STILL IN YOUR SOFT SHELL WHEN I RETURNED IT. BUT THAT’S IN THE PAST. LET'S TRY OUT MY NEW TOYS!”

 

Stan forced one of his eyes partially open to see his brother’s possessed body holding a hammer and some rusty, bent old nails. His chest tightened at the sight. The tightening turned to a sharp piercing pain as Bill attempted to nailed his left foot to the concrete floor.

 

After a moment, he went lightheaded and breathless as the pain in his chest worsened. 

 

\---

 

Something was wrong. Ford didn’t know what was the reason, but Stan wasn’t breathing right and he was starting to sweat even worse. He couldn’t tell in this lighting, but he was fairly certain Stan had paled. This wasn't good.

 

He needed out. Stan needed him. NOW!

 

“ SIXER!?! WHAT’S THE DEAL? WHERE DID THIS COME FROM?! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!”

 

“I am STANFORD FILBRICK PINES!”

 

“HOW DARE YOU!? WE MADE A BINDING DEAL!”

 

“Yes, with ME! Leave him alone!”

 

“OR WHAT?”

 

Ford didn’t respond with words, he let his actions speak.

 

\---

 

“WHAT’S THE MATTER FEZ? DON’T LIKE YOUR BROTHER SEEING YOU? HAHAHAHA!”

 

“For..d… my che..st… can’t…” Stan stopped talking as his lungs seemed to forget how they were supposed to do their job for a minute. 

 

\---

 

“NOOO! STAN! BILL!!!!!”

 

“WHA-”

 

“GET OUT!”

 

\---

 

As the pain started to fade, his chest loosened and he could breathe again.

 

Next thing he knew, he was in the back of his own mind and Ford’s eyes were no longer yellow. 

 

\---

 

It worked! Bill was gone! HA!

 

Stan! 

 

It must have taken a lot out of him to cast out Bill because it was all he could do to to lift his head to see Stan. 

 

He was still pale and sweaty, but his breathing was better. Thank axolotl!

He managed to smile at Stan as his brother’s eyes turned yellow. That was when his body decided it had had enough.

 

\---

 

His brother raised his eyes to meet his with a smile before his eyes rolled back and he started convulsing.

 

“HOW DID YOU DO THAT?! EWWW! NOW YOU DID IT TOO! WHAT IS IT WITH YOU HUMANS AND LEAKING THAT STUFF EVERYWHERE? OOH! BUBBLES? WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME HUMANS COULD DO THAT! I LOVE BUBBLES!”

 

Stan sat in the back of his mind watching in horror as his twin had a seizure and had bloody saliva foaming around his mouth. Then, just as quickly as it had started, the tremors ended and with it, so did the sounds of breathing from Ford.

 

“REALLY GENIUS? PUSHING ME OUT OF YOUR BODY JUST TO DIE? LAME. GUESS I NEED TO FIX YOU IF I WANT TO KEEP PLAYING. PARTY POOPER.”

 

Stan didn’t get to see what happened next as he was pushed even further back in his mind.

 

\---   
  


Waking up, Ford’s first thoughts were for Stan. He had clearly had a small pulmonary infarction. If he had one heart attack, another could easily follow. They both needed medical attention or neither of them were likely to survive.

 

Opening his eyes was a daunting task for his sore and weakened body. He wasn’t able to get his eyes fully open, just open enough to see that Bill was in Stan and still tied to the chair. Bill looked confused.

 

“WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME? HOW…”

 

Bill didn’t get to finish before the yellow disappeared from Stan’s eyes. His brother groaned and looked around clearly disoriented.

 

“WHAT IS THIS?!”

 

Ford was worried now. If Bill could possess someone without the yellow eyes, he could be in anyone without a way to detect him!

 

“WAIT. HOW… THIS ISN’T POSSIBLE!” 

 

Ford was shocked when these words came out of his mouth in Bill’s voice.

 

“WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!”

 

Stan’s eyes still weren’t yellow, but that was clearly Bill. Was he swapping bodies that quickly?

 

“I SHOULD BE THE ONE ASKING THAT BUCKO. THE PINES ARE MY PROPERTY! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH THEM WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!”

 

Ford could hardly believe it. Somehow, Bill had split himself between the to of them and didn’t even know it. 

 

“YOURS!?! FORDSY MAKE HIS DEAL WITH ME FAIR AND SQUARE! FEZ ADDED HIMSELF TO IT, SO HE IS MINE TOO!”

 

How could Bill not see that he was in both of them?

 

“YOU GOT GUTS CLAIMING SIXER MADE A DEAL WITH YOU. HE IS A ONE DEMON KIND OF GUY AND HIS DEAL WAS WITH ME!”

If the situation wasn’t so dire, Ford would have laughed at Bill’s ignorance. So much for all seeing and all knowing. He couldn’t even recognize himself.

 

\---

 

Stan was nearly in stitches laughing to himself in his mind. No wonder Ford had gotten along with Bill back then, they were both clueless brainboxes. Bill had gone and split himself and was yelling at himself! Priceless!

 

“WHAT’S SO FUNNY FEZ?”

 

“You!”

 

“ME?! HOW IS THIS FUNNY?! THIS GUY CLAIMS FORDSY IS HIS!”

 

Stan just laughed harder, curling his fingers around the arm of the chair. It was just too good!

 

“HE HAS YOU TOO IF HIS CLAIM PREDATES MINE. YOU STILL THINK THIS IS AMUSING?!”

 

“YES!”

 

“AND WHY IS THAT, FEZZY?”

 

“Because he is you!”

 

“WHAT!?!”

 

\---

 

Ford watched as his brother’s body went rigid and seemed to look inside itself. At first Ford had been worried, but then he realized what had happened. Stanley never could hide his amusement.

 

Ford’s thoughts were proved correct when all of a moment later Bill exclaimed, “WHAT!?!”

 

“YOU HEARD ME! HIS DEAL WAS WITH ME!” 

 

Ford wanted to slap his own face at the ignorance of his piece of Bill.

 

“HUH? OH. I WAS TALKING TO FEZ, NOT YOU.”

 

“WHY YOU!”

 

‘Bill! Stop being an idiot!’ 

 

Ford couldn’t believe he had just yelled that, albeit inside his own mind. He was more like Stan then he really cared to admit.

 

‘WHAT WAS THAT SIXER?!’ 

 

Ford could practically see Bill shift to his red and black form inside his mind and mentally braced himself for Bill anger.

 

‘I AM GOING TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN SLOWLY PICK YOUR MIND APART LIKE ONE OF THOSE BIRDS THAT EAT DEAD THINGS!’ 

 

The pain was bad, but it was nothing like he had expected. Was the dream demon weaker now that he was split between the two of them? Not so all powerful now.

 

“WHAT THE AXOLOTL?! YOU CHURLISH LITTLE JACKANAPES! YOU ARE SO GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!”

 

“GET A GRIP ON OURSELVES CIPHER! THINK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES THIS GIVES US!”

 

Both Stans, possessed by a single split dream demon smiled evilly in tandem. Without another word, Ford’s body slowly shuffled across the floor and started untying the bound twin. Given the state of both hosts, it was a long and slow process.

 

It was disturbing, even to Ford who had been at Bill’s mercy more times than he cared to remember, when both Bill’s began talking as one. Ford could only assume that the two parts of Bill partially reconnected after they realized that they were a he, not a they.

 

“I HAVE NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO PLAY WITH TWO PUPPETS! LET’S SEE HOW MUCH DAMAGE THESE MEAT SACKS CAN TAKE BEFORE THEY MAKE THOSE BUBBLES!”

 

Time passed slowly as Bill experimented with having to vessels housing him, leebing them covered in abrasions, contusions, and lacerations. He tried strangulation, suffocation, bone breaking, sharp force trauma, blunt force trauma, removing teeth, pulling off fingernails, even electrocution. But eventually he pushed them too far, too many times.

 

When Bill tried to get his weakened body, which was not at all happy to have died so many times, up off the concrete, right after the latest seizure, it refused and they collapsed back down before they even got halfway up. He could feel the exhaustion and tremors in his muscles, in his bones. If he didn't get treatment soon, Stan too, they would leave this world the same way they came in, bloody and together. 

 

\---

 

Stan had noticed something over the past few hours. When the Bills were arguing he had been able to move his blood encrusted fingers. When he was the one with the hands around his throat, he tryied to test and flex the muscles in his newly burned shoulder. He only managed a little movement, but if he could move, it meant he had some control over his body again. Control meant there was a chance to get rid of the cheese wedge of an imp.

 

Now, he was weighed down more than tied up, on the ground, but there was little chance of him getting out of the wires and cables without help. That meant he needed to get Ford in change of his body, then hope that he was strong enough to push the cords off of him. That was pretty far fetched given his injuries, shock, seizure, and all that, but that was the best idea he had.

 

Never had he wished for twin mind powers more than he did right now. Sure, he had wished pretty hard when they were kids, while he was out on the streets convinced he was dying, and when he just wanted proof that Sixer was alive on the other side of that blasted portal. But now, he was wishing not for his own sake, but for Ford’s, the Niblings’, and for his employees’. 

 

His wish was left unanswered as his chest did that painful tightening thing with the sharp pains again. He couldn't take a full breath and it was even scarier than last time now that he had hope. The pain felt like he had someone's hand in his chest squeezing his heart like their Ma used to do to with oranges to make juice, and he was positive it wasn't from the weight of the cords and cables piled on his upperbody. His chest, back, shoulder, and neck all ached in time to his misbeating heart. As his vision blurred and began to fade, he noticed just how sickly Ford looked. He knew what the pains meant and he really didn't want to leave those four kids upstairs without him and Ford, but it was looking like this basement was going to be their tomb when their bodies finally stopped coming back at the demon's bidding. 

 

He just hoped they both died together so one of them didn't have to watch the other rot. At least it was nicer than what he had expected he'd get in the end, after all these years. That was the last thought he had before his ticker gave out and he slumped unconscious. 

 

\---

 

Stanford was horrified, yet somehow  amused, that the interdimensional, supposedly omniscient, being of unlimited power had damaged him so badly that said creature couldn't even get his human body off the basement floor. Between the low blood volume, the 3rd degree burns, various other injuries, and shock, there were many reasons getting up was hard, but usually that wouldn't stop Cipher. It was almost like he wasn't as in control as before. 

 

He was mentally shaking his head at the antics Bills was displaying when the hairs on his neck and arms stood up. Something was about to happen. That was when he heard his twin's harsh breathing again. 

 

Stan was having another pulmonary episode and hopefully it wasn't an infarction. Then the sound stopped and Ford prayed to Jesselbram that this was not how he lost his brother. That was when the Demon took notice. 

 

“REALLY FEZ? I LEAVE YOU ALONE 2 MINUTES AND YOU DECIDE TO PULL THIS? WE AREN'T DONE PLAYING YET! WAKEY WAKEY!”

 

Ford's panic settled a bit at the megalomaniac’s words, but after a moment, it spiked again because Stan still wasn't breathing. Was Bill too weak in his fractured state? Was there too much damage to Stanley's body?

 

“NICE TRY GOLDFISH, BUT WE HAD A DEAL.”

 

With a wheezy gasp, Stan was back. Ford felt his adrenalin levels drop at the sound. With the panic fading, he collapsed back to the ground in relief. The sound of his brother's shaky breathing lulled him from the wakeful world and into a new one.

 

\---

 

The feeling of coming back to life the first time had been far more uncomfortable that Stan had ever imagined. It was like the time he was tortured by rival mafia gang to Rico and his goons with a car battery mixed with when Ford shoved him against that brand. Neither had been pleasant, but together they stole his ability to breathe for a moment. 

 

Now when it happened, his whole body felt hot and tingly instead. He hurt so bad that being revived was a relief ratger than another source of pain. He needed distraction to help him block it all out. Right now, he'd take those girly Icelandic band Dipper liked to sing along with in the shower. 

 

“YOU TWO REALLY MUST BE TWINS! NEITHER OF YOU CAN STAND NOT BEING THE CENTER OF ATTENTION! A COMA, REALLY SIXER? THAT IS LAME EVEN FOR YOU.”

 

Stan hated when his hoped for something and then he got it in some twisted way. Like stealing a car only to find out it was a lemon. He didn't want his brother nearly being dead to be the thing that helped him ignore his own issues, but here he was, trapped in his own mind while a demon alien attempted to wake his brother just to torture them both for its pleasure.

 

When his body was flung up, despite the 100+ pounds of cables pinning him down,  it causing him and the mass of cables to topple over, slamming his head against the ungiving concrete. Mr Mystery was couldn't do much more than blink in surprise. His body was too much in shock to feel the nails ripped through his feet where they had been pinned to the cement floor, the throb of his now busted left wrist, and the reopening of the burns and cuts on his shoulders. 

 

His rattled mind could only focus on the fact that the watch Mabel had given him after the Hand Witch incident had broken when his wrist got crushed. She had been planning on getting one for Ford too, but he had told her he didn't need one because of his sciency stuff from being trapped in the portal. Ford. Something was wrong with him. What was it again?

 

“THERE WE GO! NOW LET'S GET THIS PARTY GOING!”

 

Looking up from the watch, Stan locked eyes with his brother and his head cleared a bit. Ford looked like a rotting corpse, but given what that demented tortilla chip had done to him, it wasn't surprising. This was the price of whatever deal his idiot brother had agreed to.

 

Reaching out to the part of his mind he had been evicted from, Stan asked a question that he should have asked when he first heard about the agreement Poindexter had made with this psychotic equilateral (Yes, he knew what that was since he had taken geometry AND art before he had been kicked out) triangle. 

 

“What exactly’s your deal with my brother?”

 

“WHAT'S IT TO YA? IT'S BETWEEN ME AND THE GENIUS.”

 

“Hey, if I gotta be part of it, I should get to know what the contract says.”

 

Stan hed his resolve despite the feeling deep within himself telling him to back down. He was dealing with a being old enough to have cave drawing of him, but this wouldn't be the first time he had outwitted someone way outta his league. Just when he thought he was in for more pain for his back talk and lip, he got a response. 

 

“TOOK YOU LONGER THAN I EXPECTED TO ASK THAT, FEZZY. OL’ FORDSY HERE GAVE ME INTERNAL FREE RUN OF HIS BODY FOR A LITTLE HELP WITH HIS RESEARCH. I FULFILLED MY END, SO IT IS TIME FOR HIM TO PAY UP!”

 

“You're tellin’ me that is exactly what was said?”

 

“HAHAHA! I LIKE YOU! I GUESS I'LL TELL YOU.”

 

Stan felt a bit of a rush from that statement. He was glad he was getting his answers, but it was hollow, like the nods their dad used to give them. In a way, it was repulsive to be liked by a creature like Bill.

 

“I TOLD HIM I WOULD BESTOW MY KNOWLEDGE TO HIM IN EXCHANGE FOR THE ABILITY TO MOVE FREELY WITHIN AND WITHOUT HIS OWN MIND. AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAID?”

 

Stan didn't have time to react nor did he have the heart to when he saw as well heard his dumb genius of a brother responded looking like he was only in his early 20s. They were in a weird space-ish, swirly place and Ford grabbed the wiry black hand of the demon. As he spoke, blue flames erupted around their hands.

 

_ “Then it's a deal. From now until the end of time.” _

 

Stan couldn't help it. He laughed so hard in his mind that it broke through to his actual body, making his chest ache, but not in a bad way. It was such a Ford thing to do and so easy to get around. 

 

“WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU? DID THAT FRAGILE LITTLE PSYCHE OF YOURS SNAP?”

 

“Nah, nothin’ like that. It's just somethin’ only a moron like Ford would do. Oh by the way, what is on my wrist?”

 

“WHY SHOU-  **YOU** ! HOW!? YOU'VE KNOWN FOR LESS THAN A HUMAN MINUTE!” 

 

“I found a loophole sucker! Now let us loose, literally and figuratively, and leave us, the kids, and our world alone!”

 

“ **NO** !”

 

Contrary to his scream, they were released. A blue flame completely destroyed the cables and a few blue lights glowed under Ford's clothes too. Then there was a warm breeze as Ford's eyes flashed yellow, then the trapped feeling was gone and the cold came crashing down on them.

 

They were both shivering, but Ford was the worse off of the two of them. If he was going to get help for his brother, Stan was going to need move across the basement, reach nearly 5 feet above the ground to the old rotary phone to get a call out to someone, somebody they trusted. He just hoped he remembered the number right and that there was someone there to answer the call.

 

Using his right arm, he pulled himself slowly, inch by inch, across the freezing floor. The movement sent pain shooting through his burns. After what felt like days of moving, he reached the wall holding the phone. 

 

Given his feet and ever stiffening back, there was no way he was gonna be able to stand up or get on his knees and reach up the rest of the way. Luckily for him, he didn't have to. The rotary dial was on the handset and not the base, so all he had to do was knock the phone off the hook. 

 

The nearby rebar that they had been forced to beat each other with was too heavy for him in his prone and weakened state, so he had to look elsewhere for something to knock the telephone down with. He didn't have a broom or mop down here or anything else long enough, so he was looking for things to throw to the mount on the wall. It took a while, but he eventually crawled around enough to find his missing shoes with his socks balled up in them and his suit jacket. 

 

He made a detour on his way back to the phone to drape the makeshift blanket over his glassy eyed twin. He was slowing down and he knew it, he just needed that glorified walkie-talkie. It took far longer than he wanted to get back to the wall and even longer to hit the base the right way to knock the handset down to him.

 

He was shaking so hard from exhaustion and the cold that dialing was nearly impossible. Nearly. But soon enough, it was ringing. 

 

After three rings, the answering machine picked up.

 

“You have reached ‘MANLY DAN! And the rest of the Corduroys!’, at the beep, please record your message.”

 

At the sound of Dan and Wendy's voices his hopes fell, but it was still good to hear them. At least they would know what happened to them when they listened to the recording later. Then came the resounding BEEP.

 

“He...ey. ‘Couldn't ‘member any o...ther numbe...r, I-”

 

Stan was cut off there by a click and then a panicked sounding Wendy.

 

“Mr Pine! Oh my gosh! Dude, where are you!? We have been looking for you and Dr P all day!”

 

“W..we are in the ba...seme..nt. Bill….”

 

“Stan? Hey, are you guys hurt?”

 

“Ye...ah.”

 

“Can you get to the elevator?”

 

“‘T's gone… coul...dn't le’ Bill ‘scape…”

 

“Is there a way for us to get to you?”

 

“Th's a ‘ole… Dipper…”

 

“The spot where Dipper fell in from under the porch, got it. Just hang in here we will get you out as soon as we can.”

 

Stan nodded groggily, forgetting his employee couldn't see him. He started to nod off when the dial tone jolted him back awake. Not able to hang it back up, he let it fall to the floor and scooted back over to Ford where he promptly fell asleep against his brother.


	2. Bonus Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of healing for the Stan twins.

When he woke up in a comfortable bed, with very little pain and the sound of heart monitors, he nearly panicked. If they were free so was Bill! The only reason he didn't was years of ingrained survival skills. 

 

Opening his eyes, he saw he was in an earth hospital more advanced than they had been prior to his 30 years of interuniversal travel. In the next bed over was Stan, covered in tubes, wires, and bandages. Between them was the red-headed girl who worked in Stanley's gift shop.

 

“Hey Dr P. Good to see you awake.”

 

He tried to respond, but realized two things really quickly. First, his mouth and throat were parched. Secondly, he had a tube down his trachea. How he hadn't previously noticed he was intubated was beyond him.

 

“They thought you'd panic that that was there, but Mabel was right, you are more confused. Don't touch anything, ok man?”

 

At Ford's slight nod, she put down her magazine and grabbed what he assumed was a way of communicating with the health-care providers. Moments later, two men and a woman came bustling into the room. The woman was in a lab coat, so he surmised she was the doctor and the men were either orderlies or nurses.

 

After being poked, prodded, asked to perform various tasks, had his bladder ultrasounded, and other demeaning things, they decided to finally let him try breathing without assistance from the ventilator. When he managed without much issue, they looked confused, but removed the tubing. He gestured for the empty cup on the side table, not even questioning it, the ginger held it up to his mouth.

 

The looks of the medical practitioners’ face as he coughed up a mass of phlegm was rather amusing but their resumed prodding was not. He let them do what they needed, up to and including changing his catheter from a internal to an external until they completely weaned him of the muscle relaxants. Eventually, they ran out of things to check and left while puzzling over his chart.

 

Once they were gone, the cashier placed a cup of water with a straw in it on a rolling table from across the room and set it so that he could easily drink whenever he wanted. This endured her to him in a way he hadn't experience since Fidds back at Backupmore. After he sipped enough to soothe his abused throat, he tried speaking again.

 

“How'd we get out?”

 

His voice was deeper, quieter, and more gravelly than usual, but still intelligible. Nevertheless, he was handed a marker and a whiteboard so he didn't have to speak. In a way, he was grateful. 

 

“My Dad, brothers, and I excavated a shaft from under the porch to the lower basement level. Using pulleys, ropes, and stretchers, we got you both to ground level. You were both in bad shape, so Dad loaded you guys up on the truck and drove you three towns over to this hospital.”

 

_ Dad? _

 

“Oh yeah, we were never introduced. Wendy Corduroy, daughter of Dan Corduroy.”

 

Ah. That made sense. The red hair, plaidypus pelt jacket, and the hat should have been significant data points, but until she said the name, he did not remember Boyish Dan. 

 

_ A pleasure. What did you tell people? _

 

“Well, since the blueprints for the Shack don't show a basement, we told the truth. You were both kidnapped by Bill, trapped in a basement and tortured. Stan managed to get a phone working and called my house. He gave me enough information to get you guys out. Since Stan doesn't trust the doctors in Gravity Falls after what happened after the election, we brought you guys here. The police are looking for a one-eyed, blonde guy of unknown age with a triangular build, last seen in a bowtie and tophat, who is likely associated with Bud and Gideon Gleeful.”

 

Ford was impressed by her ability to manipulate the truth with lying. She was like a younger, female Stanley. No wonder he hired her.

 

_ ‘How long?’ _

 

“How long were you missing? For about a day. How long have you been in the hospital? Five days. How long are you stuck here? Until you two are cleared to leave.”

 

_ ‘Cost?’ _

 

“They are going to waive the hospital bill because Stan is a senior  who was a victim of a violent, and possibly politically motivated, crime and I told them you were his son, because you look a good 15 to 20 years younger than him, and that you're a former POW, so you are free too.”

 

_ ‘Stan?’ _

 

“He's stable. He got an infection from the burns, cuts, and stuff, but they caught it pretty quick. His ribs are knitting, so that's good. They have him on some heart meds, so we'll see how that goes. He has a concussion, but they think it'll heal just fine. They are mostly worried about his throat and lungs. He was barely able to breath when we got him here. Something about delayed swelling and pneumonia. They have him drugged and on the ventilator ‘til the antibiotics kick in. We were more worried about you.”

 

_ ‘Me?’ _

 

“Yeah dude. You didn't react well to the transfusion for your massive blood loss and low blood pressure, you had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics for your infected cuts and burns, you kept having seizures, have eight cracked ribs, missing teeth, a broken leg, fractured bones in your hands, arms, feet, and jaw, and your neck was worse off than Mr P's. Also, I'm kinda surprised you can talk or write at all.”

 

_ ‘Oh…’ _

 

“Yeah. Whatever happened to you out there” she made a hand wavy gesture that he took the mean the portal, “over the past 30 years really helped you. You're healing a lot faster than they expected.”

 

_ ‘Nothing new. Happened before.’ _

 

She raised an eyebrow at that and pointedly looked at his burns, but he just shrugged and asked his next question. 

 

_ ‘Kids?’ _

 

“Dipper and Mabel are helping Soos run the Shack and manage the tours that are coming in now that Tyler is officially the mayor. They are really worried about you guys, but I update them everyday on you two. Oh, let me get a picture of you awake. Hold still for a bit.”

 

He watched her pull a device out of her pocket, opened it, and pointed it at him. He heard a click and then she lowered it and started making clicks he assumed was typing. He was falling asleep when she snapped it shut, jolting him awake again.

 

When she started leafing through her magazine instead of continuing their conversation, he settled back down. The steady, rhythmic thwip of turning pages relaxed him mentally and physically. Soon, he was fast asleep. 


End file.
